Wayne Jagow says he plans on following the law. That’s why the Niagara County Clerk says he will issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants if Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s executive order goes into effect in December. It’s also why Jagow will have them arrested immediately afterward, he said.

Dan Miner

Wayne Jagow says he plans on following the law.

That’s why the Niagara County Clerk, a Republican who’s running unopposed in the election this year, maintains he will issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants if Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s executive order goes into effect in December.

It’s also why Jagow will have them arrested immediately afterward, he said. Since state government will allow the license, and federal government prohibits illegal immigrants, he thinks he’s obligated to do both.

“It goes back to my days in law enforcement,” he said of his problem with the Spitzer plan. “There were a lot of laws I didn’t agree with, but you can’t pick and choose what laws you are or aren’t going to follow.

“But at the same turn, they’re illegal. And I’m not going to turn my head to something that’s illegal.”

Jagow has plenty of company when it comes to those looking to block the law. The state Association of County Clerks opposed the move in an October vote, and political bodies across the state — including the Erie and Niagara County Legislatures — have undertaken similar actions.

Spitzer meanwhile has not backed down, arguing that licenses will bring immigrants out of the shadows and that opposition is political in nature.

On Thursday, the governor’s office responded to Jagow’s position that he will issue driver’s licenses to and then report illegal immigrants. An e-mail from Spitzer spokesperson Jennifer Givner said county clerks will not be able to tell who is illegal and who isn’t.

“Under this policy change, applicants will not be required to provide documents that demonstrate their immigration status in this country, so there will be no evidence that a person is indeed an undocumented immigrant,” Givner said. “Any clerk making a report to federal immigration officials regarding a license applicant's immigration status will be reporting only their subjective suspicions regarding an individual's status.”

Jagow said he would wait to finalize how he would follow through on reporting illegal immigrants until he’s sure Spitzer’s plan will go forward.

“We haven’t laid out that process yet because we’re waiting to see what the governor will be doing on this,” he said. “What we have left right now is that the sheriff and I and the district attorney are going to get together and talk about where we are on this.”

Niagara County District Attorney Matthew Murphy III said the idea was in a “very preliminary stage.” Arresting illegal immigrants usually falls to federal agencies such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he said.

“We need to find more about what plan and proposals there are,” he said. “But in terms of arresting people, I think that’s federal law enforcement.”